Political rivals in Britain unite to combat EU "Brexit" threat

[dipsydoodle]

(Reuters) - Political rivals joined forces on Wednesday to launch a campaign to keep Britain inside the European Union, aiming to turn back a rising tide of animosity towards Brussels that threatens to end its 40-year membership of the bloc.

Politicians of different stripes decided to pool their efforts after Prime Minister David Cameron last week promised to renegotiate Britain's EU membership terms and give voters a chance to say whether they want to leave.

The Centre for British Influence Through Europe (CBIE), a cross-party group that lobbies to keep Britain inside the EU, said it hoped to convince voters that its stance was the "common sense" option in the barrage of rhetoric on Europe.

And two of Cameron's senior ministers urged a "political fightback" against growing calls for Britain to claw back powers from its biggest trading partner or leave it altogether.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/01/30/uk-britain-europe-idUKBRE90T0UL20130130

[T_i_B]

1. As somebody who wants the UK to stay in the EU....

....I do hope that such a campaign doesn't end up being totally uncritical of the EU. That's the most sure fire way to play into the hands of UKIP and lose a referendum vote.

I believe the EU is in need of radical reform, but if we leave the EU we won't be able to do a thing to achieve that. Plus we will still have to abide by the single market rules for trade, without exerting any influence over how those rules are made.